The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the US Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the situation in Syria.

As the Russian Foreign Ministry's press service reports, Lavrov drew attention to the fact that illegal armed groups in eastern Aleppo and the so-called "local board" had refused to cooperate to resolve the created situation. He noted, that it was already four weeks, that Russia’s Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Air Force had not had flights in that area. At the same time, the US authorities had not yet separated the moderate opposition from terrorist groups, though they were obliged to do so, in case of termination of the flights. The parties agreed to continue looking for ways to normalize bilateral expert consultations.

The Russian Foreign Minister also expressed his indignation concerning denying the President of the International Chess Federation Ilyumzhinov of providing an entry visa to the US, which means that he cannot be present at FIDE match in New York.